Looking a bit closer at the photos, one of the booms is an older clamp-on (the pink one). Also, one of the epoxy masts is a two-piece. I would check to see whether the Fanatic Lite Bat has a daggerboard, because I can't see it in the board. There is a universal attached to one of the two mast extensions, but you need to find out whether it goes with the Fanatics or the Mistral. It is unlikely that the one universal will work on all the boards, because the connecting pin design tended to be unique between brands at that time. Lastly, it could be that the mast track design between the two Fanatics could be the same (interchangeable), so you would have a spare for the future.

In the end, I will mention something that the others here aren't highlighting. Windsurfing is a fairly expensive sport, particularly if you concentrate on having newer equipment, to include a quiver of masts, sails, booms, extensions and fins. Most of us have a number of different boards too. When you total things up, it's easily thousands of dollars. Two new boards would run you $1500-2000 a piece, so that gives you an idea about what stuff costs.

What most beginning windsurfers learn is that the stuff you learn on is quickly outgrown, usually after the first year or two. That's when you really go for the latest stuff to work optimally for where you live. The old stuff being offered right now is a cheap way to see if the sport of windsurfing is right for you. If it is, you can always keep the Ultra Cat for high performance longboard sailing, or you can patiently wait for the right buyer. In very good condition, with all the important parts, you should be able to get $400.

It's crucial that you understand that if you buy this stuff and the mast foot breaks on you after a few sessions, the equipment is unusable. You would either have to find someone with one of these pieces for sale (and their piece will also be 25 years old) or have a new mast track put in the board (costs a few hundred dollars, and then you still need to buy the mast foot.) This is not an unreasonable scenario...mast feet wear out...age effects them...a ten year old mast foot is highly suspect). Try asking on this forum for sources of replacement mast feet for late 80's Fanatic and Mistral boards. Google it.

Happily, the choice isn't between this pile of 25+ year old equipment and expensive new gear. With luck and some guidance at a swap meet you should be able to buy a board and rig for $600, with the components less than ten years old, none of it obsolete, and all (or most all) of it remaining of value to you as you improve._________________Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com

The ad is from Houston craigslist. Are you in the Houston area? They have a big group who race on the type of boards you would want to start out on. They could steer you in the right direction. Search the internet for Seabrook Sailing Club.

Let's get real. Windsurfing equipment can break at any time, even stuff that is fairly new. Something breaks, and you need to replace it if you want to continue to windsurf. Break a $600 mast in the surf launching one day, and the next day you'll be buying a replacement.

I have a good friend that bought a Fanatic Lite Bat exactly like the one in the photos brand new in around 1987. He used the board maybe 2 or 3 times. Today, the board is in virtually new condition, along with a complete 5.7 rig (I see it weekly just sitting there in his carport). Now, is this stuff ready to break and leave you stranded? No doubt, everything is ancient, but that doesn't mean that it can be used today for years to come? Sure, learning on older more tippy equipment is a bit of a challenge, but that's what I did in the mid 80s without lessons, and I was in my late 30s.

Sometimes I wish that folks weren't always sending a negative message about older equipment to potential new windsurfers. Many folks don't have the funds to buy the latest equipment, buy lessons or take a vacation to some exotic tropical spot to learn the sport.

Sometimes I wish that folks weren't always sending a negative message about older equipment to potential new windsurfers. Many folks don't have the funds to buy the latest equipment, buy lessons or take a vacation to some exotic tropical spot to learn the sport.

'
Dude (I'm saying that in fun, and as the owner and sailor of a 1983 Mistral Superlight, and as a former organizer of Vintage Sailing Class Racing...remember those?) I am advocating ten year old gear (or even 15 years old) over 25 year old gear, most specifically around the mast foot issue, which could easily make the board useless.

There are choices between brand-new and dumpworthy. Have you ever been to a swap meet? They have used equipment of all ages, sizes, and conditions, and it's possible to put together a beginners package at one.* Like you said, things break. Do you want our potential windsurfer, when he goes to the windsurfing shop with his broken uni, to be told

A: They haven't made those in decades, or
B: Your choices are mechanical, tendon, and rubber. We have them all...

I didn't say anything about lessons (which are usually the best money one can spend in windsurfing) or vacations to exotic locales.

*My beginner rig was assembled with friends help at a swap meet in 1992 for $400. The same quality set up could be assembled now for about $550. Those friends steered me away from a number of what they saw as potential mistakes. That's what I'm trying to do here.

(I paid $180 to have a new mast track put in my Superlight...which was far from my first board... because I did like racing it in light winds. I bought the board in near mint condition, but the uni was still 17 years old (then) and came apart on me in one season.)_________________Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com

Let's just say that someone like the original poster buys this vast array of gear and spends a year or so with it. He learns the sport quickly, and he's then right on track to move into modern higher wind gear. Never any fatal events where all was lost. Also, because there was so much stuff, he got some of his friends into windsurfing too. In the end, he sells everything for virtually what he paid for it, which was almost nothing, and it all worked out so sweet.

That would be a positive story, right? And, when you think about, it's really not that farfetched.

The two Fanatics are from 1990 or earlier. The mastbase extension with the red plastic piece on the end is for the Mistral and will not fit either Fanatic.

IF there is included a mastbase/foot which will attach a mast to the Fanatic UltraCat, and it is in good condtion (flex any moveable parts looking for cracks).... then I would pay $150 to $200 for the UltraCat. The price for the UltraCat includes a useable fin, a mastbase/foot that attaches a mast to the board, and the daggerboard. An extra mastbase /foot is $20-$25. It is an excellent board for lakes... anything without substantial waves. Until you learn to windsurf you have no use for the Fanatic Bat or the Mistral SST.

When I buy old used equipment I figure $25 to $40 for each two piece mast, each adjustable clamp-on boom, each sail.... for each one that I want.

If all of the items are in good enough condition: If I wanted the UltraCat, each of the five sails, if there are two two-piece masts, if there are two clamp-on booms, & if there is an extra mastbase/ foot: I could pay from $375 to $560 and feel like the price was fair for what I wanted. But you might not want all of the sails or need the second boom or second mast.

The actual condition of the sails does make a difference as well as whether the sails you buy fit on the masts & booms you buy. If the equipment has had very little use the sails might be in great shape even if they are as old as the UltraCat. Two years ago I bought several sails from the late 80's to early 90's that are still in fine condition.

Don't pay any extra for the privilege of including either the SST or the Bat. By the time you are good enough to use them you'll want modern boards which are light years ahead in user friendliness.

Let's just say that someone like the original poster buys this vast array of gear and spends a year or so with it. He learns the sport quickly, and he's then right on track to move into modern higher wind gear. Never any fatal events where all was lost. Also, because there was so much stuff, he got some of his friends into windsurfing too. In the end, he sells everything for virtually what he paid for it, which was almost nothing, and it all worked out so sweet.

That would be a positive story, right? And, when you think about, it's really not that farfetched.

I completely agree. However it would be equally not that farfetched for the following to happen:

His uni breaks on day one (or two or three). He contacts windsurfing shops in search of a replacement and is told he's out of luck. He looks online for awhile and fails to find the part. The gear sits in his garage for a year before he takes it all to the dump._________________Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com

Come on, even if the universal breaks, a fixed position Chinook universal can easily be bought and rigged up on these boards no problem using an inexpensive aftermarket component. Why attempt to deceive potential newcomers to the sport with such a fatalistic outlook?

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